A Church of Ireland archbishop called for changes in the refugee system today in the wake of the Afghan hunger strike protest.
The Archbishop of Dublin, Dr John Neill, said there was a need for better communication so that asylum seekers did not feel criminalised. "We don't dispute that it's a fair system, but it's the way it works on the ground. They feel they are criminals before they start to prove their innocence." he said.
He said the church was prepared to act as an independent third party during the asylum hearings to boost confidence in the process.
Dr Neill was speaking in the wake of the stand-off at St Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin, where a group of men demanding political asylum refused food or water for six days.
He said the Church of Ireland had experienced conflicting emotions about the case, sympathising with the men but also believing that it was not acceptable for a church to be used in this way.
"We had very deep concerns about the minors and also people threatening self-harm and suicide," he told RTÉ radio.
The group was taken from the church by gardaí late on Saturday night after a six-day stand off.
A coalition of NGOs commended the peaceful ending, ensured by the Afghan asylum seekers, of their hunger strike and protest. "The asylum seekers acted courageously to avert an escalation of confrontation with the government," said Aki Stavrou, Director of Integrating Ireland , an independent alliance of 210 organisations dedicated to protecting the rights of migrants.
"It is a matter of deep concern that proposals brokered by the Church of Ireland on Friday night, were later repudiated by the Department of Justice. We understand that the emerging agreement had been achieved through negotiations with Government officials and was only withdrawn at the final stages."
Aki Stavrou went on to say that the Afghan asylum seekers who participated in this protest were "expressing a genuine and deeply felt fear that the Irish asylum process would not guarantee their safety," and that the protest was "neither a threat, nor a stunt, but a plea to the government to recognize the reality of their experiences of the asylum system."
Thirty-three men from the group have been remanded on bail and will appear before the courts later in the week. But despite opposition politicians calling for reform of the asylum system, Justice Minister Michael McDowell has said it was proven to be fair and transparent, adding that it was open to judicial review.
Mr McDowell noted comments from the United Nations High Commission for Refugees representative Manuel Jordao, who said that Ireland had one of the best procedures for asylum seekers in Europe.
Additional reporting PA